The tool essentially brings quicker access to Google Earth from Google Maps, and users who have already downloaded the Google Earth Plugin, which has been available since 2008, will be able to get the 3D functionality straight away.

What Earth view offers is an overall wow factor as opposed to the detail of Google Maps -- you don't get street names, for example, and it would obviously benefit from being viewed in proper 3D (glasses and all).

But, as Stephen Shankland of CNET suggests, does this signal that Google is constructing "an immersive 3D reproduction of the entire world that you can explore"? We know Google has been snapping Street View images in 3D as well as since since 2008 and, adds Shankland, "Google is among the browser makers backing a 3D Web technology called WebGL for built-in 3D that can tap into a computer's graphics chip for accelerated performance."

But is Earth view useful on 2D screens or simply a novelty we will enjoy for a while before flipping back to Google Maps for our everyday needs? Your views please.